Well, looks like the Kobo Arc is dead in the water. The new Kindle Fire is going to be more powerful than the old (thus way more powerful than the Arc) - AND cost only $159. Even if it too lacks a dedicated GPU and microSD slot (the latter's a given, of course), it will blow the Arc away.

Based on my experiences with my Vox, I've already decided that I am staying clear of the Arc.

I may actually buy a Fire, though - because I've recently built up a nice library on my Amazon account and read via the Android Kindle app. It would be cool to have a dedicated device for my Amazon purchases. Their ebook selection is far superior to Kobobooks - and they are always on top of new releases, esp. for some of my favorite independent authors and obscure reads. They also allow pre-orders, which makes it really easy for me to plan my purchases for sequels I've been waiting desperately to read!

Kobo Arc isn't dead in the water yet because Kindle Fire is only available in the U.S. Supposedly it's coming to the U.K. at some point, but that doesn't help me. As a Canadian, I have no intention of jumping through hoops to get my hands on a Kindle Fire, and then have to jump through more hoops to get access to content for their forked system. I tried accessing their App store, and frankly after not being successful (I followed step-by-step instructions on the Amazon forum, and I'm very tech savy) gave up on Amazon's extra services. Not worth the extra hassle for me.

The Arc isn't really aimed at the U.S. market, and it seems that at the moment that's all Amazon cares about with it's tablet. If I choose not to get an Arc, it will be because I'll go with the Microsoft tablet or the Nexus tablet. It certainly won't be for a Fire I can't use.

Kobo Arc isn't dead in the water yet because Kindle Fire is only available in the U.S. Supposedly it's coming to the U.K. at some point, but that doesn't help me. As a Canadian, I have no intention of jumping through hoops to get my hands on a Kindle Fire, and then have to jump through more hoops to get access to content for their forked system. I tried accessing their App store, and frankly after not being successful gave up on Amazon's extra services.

The Arc isn't really aimed at the U.S. market, and it seems that at the moment that's all Amazon cares about with it's tablet. If I choose not to get an Arc, it will be because I'll go with the Microsoft tablet or the Nexus tablet. It certainly won't be for a Fire I can't use.

I've heard about Canadians having issues with getting access to Amazon Kindle content, but...I haven't had any issues doing this with the Kindle App on my Android phone. I've bought tons of books using my Amazon account. Would it be different to get my Kindle purchases/library connected to the Fire with my Canadian address?

I've heard about Canadians having issues with getting access to Amazon Kindle content, but...I haven't had any issues doing this with the Kindle App on my Android phone. I've bought tons of books using my Amazon account. Would it be different to get my Kindle purchases/library connected to the Fire with my Canadian address?

Books aren't the issue, pokee. You shouldn't have any issue at all loading your Kindle ebooks onto your new ereader. I can't guarantee this, but I know that Canadians purchase ebooks through the U.S. store, so I can't imagine it being a problem. It's all the other stuff - apps, movies, cloud services - that aren't readily available. Someone else will need to confirm this, though.

So I read the specs for both and unless my eyes are deceiving me they are going to use the same chips and both going dual core so explain all this hooplah that somehow the fire will be faster? As for content I can vouch for the fact that I have had many people up here frustrated by the lack of ability to put apps, movies, etc on their kindle fires in Canada, books are fine but if you are just buying books why would you get an Fire instead of a regular kobo or kindle. Personally I'm excited to see all three of these devices and what Kobo might do with them. As for the Nexus 7 (which severely tempts me on a daily basis) I don't think the ARC is aimed at people who would ever buy a Nexus it's aimed at readers and those who want a more smooth reading experience with the extra benefits of email, web, etc. if they need it. In any case the really exciting thing for me is to see if the new cases they are touting which turn the reader on and off when you open and close the case are compatible with my touch or will involve an upgrade to a glo.

Books aren't the issue, pokee. You shouldn't have any issue at all loading your Kindle ebooks onto your new ereader. I can't guarantee this, but I know that Canadians purchase ebooks through the U.S. store, so I can't imagine it being a problem. It's all the other stuff - apps, movies, cloud services - that aren't readily available. Someone else will need to confirm this, though.

Ahhh...this makes sense - thanks for the update. I'd likely use it for books, but it would be nice to have the option of using the other services/apps though...

Even at 16GB, that holds less than 3 HD movies, so this isn't much of a "multimedia tablet", which is what their website is marketing it as. I have more storage capacity in my cell phone! What are these designers thinking when they decide to not include a 50 cent socket in these products?

I'd buy a Blackberry Playbook 64gb model at about the same price before the Arc... or wait for the new Microsoft Surface.

Even at 16GB, that holds less than 3 HD movies, so this isn't much of a "multimedia tablet", which is what their website is marketing it as. I have more storage capacity in my cell phone! What are these designers thinking when they decide to not include a 50 cent socket in these products?

I'd buy a Blackberry Playbook 64gb model (with a Micro-SD slot) at about the same price before the Arc... or wait for the new Microsoft Surface.

Cheers
The REAL Joe

True...I store all my movies on my external card on my Vox. Same with my phone...

BUT, I guess Amazon wants to do the Apple thing and have to buy from their store and keep everything in the Cloud.

F*ck the Cloud! I don't own any Apple devices for that very reason!

Guess if I want a Kindle, I'd be better off on the cheapie e-ink verson. They have the new Paperweight...ooops, I mean Paperwhite coming out (who's bright idea was THAT name!?) which could be worthy of scoping out, instead of me buying the new Kobo Glo. LOVE that I have LOTS of options, though!!!

I like the fact that I am not tied into Amazon (or Nook) for apps on the Arc. I also like that I don't have to fake a US address to be able to buy it or use it. I have no real use for it, as I have a Nexus 7, but it looks like a winner to me. I may get one for my granddaughter, who is using my old Vox. It also looks like the Arc app will have features only currently available on the Touch.

I like the fact that I am not tied into Amazon (or Nook) for apps on the Arc. I also like that I don't have to fake a US address to be able to buy it or use it. I have no real use for it, as I have a Nexus 7, but it looks like a winner to me. I may get one for my granddaughter, who is using my old Vox. It also looks like the Arc app will have features only currently available on the Touch.

I'm getting a Glo (and maybe a Mini).

oh, just admit it Taming, you're planning on getting them all for yourself; you know you wanna!

So I read the specs for both and unless my eyes are deceiving me they are going to use the same chips and both going dual core so explain all this hooplah that somehow the fire will be faster? As for content I can vouch for the fact that I have had many people up here frustrated by the lack of ability to put apps, movies, etc on their kindle fires in Canada, books are fine but if you are just buying books why would you get an Fire instead of a regular kobo or kindle. Personally I'm excited to see all three of these devices and what Kobo might do with them. As for the Nexus 7 (which severely tempts me on a daily basis) I don't think the ARC is aimed at people who would ever buy a Nexus it's aimed at readers and those who want a more smooth reading experience with the extra benefits of email, web, etc. if they need it. In any case the really exciting thing for me is to see if the new cases they are touting which turn the reader on and off when you open and close the case are compatible with my touch or will involve an upgrade to a glo.

I'll retract my statement about the Arc being totally obsolete prior to release; When they stated processor speed, they hadn't mentioned the chip they were going to use; I did find a review on CNet that does mention that it's using the same chip as the announced Kindle Fire HD, which is a Dual Core TI OMAP 4470 (the original and upgraded Kindle Fire used/uses the 4430 chip, although I'm reading varying reports on what the Fire HD 7" will use vs Fire HD 8"). These chips, contrary to what's been posted here, do indeed have dedicated GPU's, and the 4470 has been compared favourably to the Tegra 3 chip from Nvidia, which is of course a 4 core CPU (and multi core GPU).

That said, the I think the Arc is still inferior overal. The Main reasons would be that while the Arc has a camera and has a nice screen over the Fire2, but the Fire2 costs $40 less.

The Fire HD, and we'll just talk about the 7", is definitely better because, while at the same price point as the Arc, has the extra system ram memory (2GB vs 1GB), larger starting storage (16GB vs 8GB), and Dual band, dual antenna Mimo Wifi (this is actually really cool). The only downside is that it doesn't have access to the Play store, and it was recently mentioned that all Fire tablets will have advertisements in the screensavers and lock screens with no rebated version to go with it(Really crappy).. But, overall, it's even better than the Nexus 7, which makes me sad .

In any case, the release of all these tablets, along with the upcoming ipads, and windows machines, should bring some interesting developments in the hardware world over the next holiday season.

Personally I'm excited to see all three of these devices and what Kobo might do with them. As for the Nexus 7 (which severely tempts me on a daily basis) I don't think the ARC is aimed at people who would ever buy a Nexus it's aimed at readers and those who want a more smooth reading experience with the extra benefits of email, web, etc. if they need it. In any case the really exciting thing for me is to see if the new cases they are touting which turn the reader on and off when you open and close the case are compatible with my touch or will involve an upgrade to a glo.